


Careful Now

by abadeerly



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Betrayal, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mute!Marceline, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Strangers to Lovers, mute character, selective mutism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24530371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abadeerly/pseuds/abadeerly
Summary: Bonnibel has been going to Greenfield High for four years now. She’s picked up on a lot of things while attending, like how the vending machines near the maths rooms never work, and that you’re not supposed to use the last stall in the girls bathroom for reasons unbeknownst to most of the student body, and that the bike shed doubled as the students illegitimate smoking area. Not talking to the grumpy goth girl is one of the many, many rules that Bonnibel has been abiding by. It’s also the one rule Bonnibel is going to break. And she's going to reap all the consequences that follow after.
Relationships: Princess Bubblegum/Marceline
Comments: 29
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Careful now, there's someone here counting on you // If I'm careful now, things might just turn themselves around

Lucy Rhodes was uncharacteristically glaring at the back wall of the school library. Usually the optimistic one of their motley group of friends, it was no surprise that the sour expression on her face brought visible discomfort to the Mertens brothers, both of whom were sitting beside her on one of the long tables in the centre of the room offered for study (but were more often than not used for socialising and pen throwing competitions by the . 

Bonnibel kind of had to smile a little bit to herself as she walked through the doors, though; seeing how wary the two boys seemed, watching on as Lucy chewed on the end of her pencil. In fact, Lucy was  _ so  _ intent on frowning at nothing in particular that she didn’t even acknowledge that Bonnibel had walked in, just continued to sit and frown. 

Bonnibel used her friend's blinding anger to stoop down next to the eldest brother as she rounded the table unnoticed. “What’s she mad about?” 

“Grady gave her an F this morning and she hasn’t been the same since.” Jake replied in an equally quiet tone. “You didn’t hear that from me though.” And he gave her a cheeky wink and a grin. 

Bonnibel rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder as she seated herself next to her rather ireful best friend. Lucy acknowledged her for the first time since she’d entered the room, rolling her hazel eyes to meet Bonnibel’s blue ones. Then her bottom lip quivered and Bonnibel found herself being launched at. “He  _ failed _ me.” Lucy wailed dramatically into her shoulder, gripping Bonnibel’s forearms too tight for her friend to comfortably hug her back. “My parents think I’m doing great.”

“It was only a history essay, Lu,” Bonnibel soothed, trying her best to rub Lucy’s shoulders with her limited movement. “I’m sure they’d understand it’s not super important for your end of year grades.”

“Plus,” Finn interjected the conversation, not looking up from his textbook as he waved his finger in the air. “Grady’s known for being a hard ass. Tell them he was being unfair, it’s not totally unbelievable.”

“True.” Bonnibel agreed.

Lucy pulled away from Bonnibel’s shoulder with the frown still on her face and turned to Finn. At least she wasn’t glaring at walls anymore. “I guess you have a point. What did you get in Maths?”

“I got a C. Bonnibel, as always, got an A.” Finn gave Bonnibel a knowing look. “Because she spends all her spare time being a know-it-all.” And another Mertens brother wink was thrown Bonnibel’s way.

Lucy’s frown disappeared in place for a smile as she turned back to Bonnibel. “That reminds me, did White talk to you guys about the-,”

“Mandatory study groups starting next week?” Bonnibel finished for her. “Yeah, we were given the run down of it all. Why?”

“Well,” Lucy sang. “We can group together. Well, plus a few other kids, I guess. At least that way we won’t be stuck with any randoms. Don’t you agree, Jacob?”

Jake blinked. “What am I agreeing to now?”

“We can group together for mandatory study, babe.” Lucy explained. “We’re gonna need a couple extra people to meet the required amount, though.” 

“Oh,” Jake scratched his head in thought. “I mean, it’d definitely work out better.”

“We’re basically a study group already.” Finn pointed out, looking away from his textbook to grin boyishly. “Who are we recruiting to join us?” 

“What are we talking about, library dwellers?” A familiar voice came from the doorway. The group looked up at Marshall, already making his way to sit down across from them with his hands in his pockets. “Any hot gossip for me today?”

“We’re trying to figure out who we can get to join our study group.” Bonnibel explained, ignoring the disgusted grimace that crossed his face. “Also, hot gossip? I didn’t think Laura had hired you as one of her spies, Marshall.”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Marshall replied coolly, leaning back onto two legs on his chair. “Laura’s scared I’ll hit on her if she talks to me.” 

“Because you hit on _ everyone _ , dude.” Jake said. “Anyway, do you know anyone that’d be willing to join our group?”

“Ew.” Marshall grimaced once more. “As if I’d know anyone nerdy enough to want to join a  _ study group _ _._ ”

“I mean, you could always tell us and join yourself so you don’t get stuck with someone like Laura.” Lucy offered. “But it’s fine if you don’t want to.”

All four legs were safely back on the ground. Marshall rolled his eyes upwards in consideration before giving Lucy a flat look. “Fine. I’ll ask Guy if he and his music geeks wanna join in too. Jake, you know Bongo, right?”

“He’s in the wrestling team,” Jake nodded. “He’s alright.”

“There you go then,” Marshall smirked. “I’ll go ask ‘em now in case Grady eats me for being late or something, splitsville dorks.”

“He’ll lock you in the janitors closet and throw away the key, more like.” Finn chuckled, closing his textbook. “I’ll come with, I have to go that way for my next lesson.” He followed Marshall out of the library, idly chatting about something Bonnibel could no longer here from the table as he rounded the table. 

“Well,” She announced. “I better get going too. I have some errands to run for Miss Berry.”

“I swear you’re the only student who does things for the teachers.” Lucy rolled her eyes. 

Bonnibel shrugged as she stood from the table, waving at them both as she headed towards the door. “It’s a nice thing to do.” She called back over her shoulder before disappearing into the hallway.

* * *

“Your daughter’s home.” Bonnibel sang, kicking the front door closed with her heel. She discarded her bag at the foot of the stairs for when she’d eventually go up to her room later and tugged off her pink converse, kicking them to the side next to the already full shoe rack. 

Her mother, Kim, poked her smiling face round the kitchen door frame. “Hi, honey. I’m just starting your dad’s lunch. How’d it go at the meeting with your history teacher today?” 

Bonnibel shrugged, following her mother to the kitchen to help prepare her father's food. “He said I was doing well and suggested I start doing some of the advanced work. So, just like all the other meetings with my teachers have gone this year.”

“I’m so proud of you,” Her mother wrapped her up in a half hug, rubbing at Bonnibel’s arm as she smiled. “Your dad will be so happy to hear it, Bonnie. Did he say anything else?”

“Not really, he seemed really genuine about it though, unlike White.” Bonnibel muttered, taking a spoon from the side to start stirring the pasta in the pan. “Oh, that reminds me. We’re doing mandatory studying in groups from next week onwards.”

“That sounds exciting, are the groups already planned out.”

“They’re letting us decide who we want to study with, with certain size limits of course. Me, Lucy, Finn, Jake and Marshall and a few of his friends are going to group up together.” She shrugged. “It should be fun, I think.”

“It sounds fun,” Kim agreed. “Marshall’s the one who thinks he’s funny, right?”

Bonnibel laughed. “He can be funny. He’s also the guy that flirts with  _ everyone _ , so that might be interesting.” 

“And what about you?”

“What about me?” Bonnibel frowned.

“Who have you been flirting with, Bonnie.” Her mother teased.

“No one,” Bonnibel admitted truthfully. “I’ve been flirting with the idea of moving my usual homework days to Sunday mornings instead of doing it on Friday evenings, though. It’ll give me more energy to hang out with friends on Saturdays.”

“It would be good to see you get out of the house more,” Kim nodded. “Should I start bringing your breakfast to the garage on Sundays, then?”

“If it’s no trouble with you? You could always call me from the kitchen.”

“Don’t worry about it, Bonnie. I know how much my daughter values her school work.”

Bonnibel smiled. “Thanks mum, you’re the best.”

* * *

There was a  _ping_ from Bonnibel’s computer and a notification from the group chat Lucy had created months prior popped up in the corner shortly afterwards, drawing her attention to the message and then the time.  _ 11:04PM. _ Had she really been reading that long? 

Bonnibel didn’t need to fully read the message to know what it read; she was already five minutes late to their usual video chatting session, and opened the notification and clicked the big green  _ Join Call _ button.

“ _ Bonnibel _ ,” Jake’s voice came through her earphones as his video crackled to life on screen, pixelated and blurry as usual. “ _ How nice of you to finally join us _ .”

“I was reading,” Bonnibel defended herself, glaring at his little face on her screen, and then at the equally blurred and pixelated person next to him. “Is that Finn with you?”

“ _ Hey, Bonnibel _ _,_ ” Finn greeted. “ _ Lucy went to the bathroom real quick but she should be back soon _ .” That explained the empty frame of Lucy’s bedroom. Bonnibel just nodded.

“Do you know if Marshall asked his friends about the study group, Finn?”

“ _ I don’t know. I didn’t follow him that long, just to my class. We could see if he’s online, though _ _._ ”

“ _ See if who’s online _ ?” Lucy was heard before she was seen, appearing on camera in a flurry of pixels. At least her camera quality was better than Jake’s. 

“ _ We’re asking Marshall if he asked Guy and Bongo to join our group _ _._ ” Jake explained to his girlfriend as Bonnibel clicked onto her direct messages with Marshall. 

“He’s online, should I invite him to join our call?” 

“ _ You could just message him . _ ” Lucy replied. “ _ Ask if he’s dating Melissa, too. ”  _

Bonnibel frowned. “Why would he be dating Melissa?” She asked, tapping out the two questions anyway. “I thought he didn’t hang out with that crowd.”

**Bonnibel (11:08PM):** Hey Marshall, just wondering if you ever asked your friends about the study group? Also, Lucy asks ‘Are you dating Melissa’? :I 

“ _ Laura wanted to know, I didn’t ask  _ why  _ she wanted to know .”  _ Lucy explained. “ _ You know what she’s like. _ ”

“Gossip, gossip, gossip.” Bonnibel drawled, nodding and clicking back onto the call. “What’s Bongo like, Jake?” 

“ _ Uh, he’s good at wrestling, I think. Hangs out with Guy Fellows and that other chick in the spare music rooms. He’s the guy who helped Marshall TP the cafeteria last year _ _._ ”

“ _ I didn’t even know Marshall hung out with the band geeks. ”  _ Lucy said.  _ “ But I guess it makes sense. _ ”

Finn laughed. “ _ Marshall talks to Guy the most after school in the parking lot. I think he just knows Bongo and a few of the other band weirdos through association.” _

“You say weirdos like you don’t hang out with the resident nerd.” Bonnibel replied flatly. “Just because we know Laura doesn’t mean we’re on the same social status as her. In fact, I’d say we’re on par with the music kids.”

“ _ Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t bully them for hanging out in the music rooms all day. It’s a reflection on our self depreciation. The library isn’t a better hang out spot, let’s be real here. ”  _ Lucy retorted playfully. “ _ And anyway, doesn’t _ _-_ ,” 

_ Ping _ .

“Oh, Marshall messaged me back, hold on.”

**Marshall (11:14PM):** guy and bongo are joining also lmao im not dating melissa what ? 

**Bonnibel (11:15PM):** Awesome, thanks! Also, I kind of figured you weren’t :)

“He’s not dating Melissa, also they’re joining our study group so we should be good.”

“ _ Hell yeah. _ ” Finn celebrated. “ _ That should be enough members, right? _ ”

“Should be, yeah.” Bonnibel nodded. “Also, I’m adding Marshall to the call. I hate switching between chat and call.”

“ _ Doesn’t Marshall have- _ ”

“ _ What’s popping losers, ”  _ Marshall’s audio cut off Lucy as he joined the call, brushing hair out of his face as he leaned in to look at his screen. “ _ How goes it? ” _

“You’re joining our study group, Marshall, that makes you a loser too.” 

“ _ Oh, word. I guess I should stop calling you guys losers then if I’m going to be hanging out with you more often. _ ” 

“ _ Or _ ,” Jake cut in, drawing out the vowel so no one would talk over him. “ _ You could stop calling people losers full stop _ _._ ”

“ _ Didn’t your brother just call Marshall’s friends weirdos a minute ago?”  _ Lucy asked, brow popping up. “ _ Where was this anti bullying speech then, babe? ” _

“ _ Nah, Finn has a point.” _ Marshall laughed. “ _ Guy and Bongo are weirdos. You guys aren’t even losers. You just do nerd shit all the time. ” _

“ _ Correction, Bonnibel does nerd shit all the time. We just put up with her nerd shit . _ ” Jake teased, earning a laugh from the others. 

“You won’t be saying that when I’m carrying you all to A’s next week.” Bonnibel reminded them. “Then it’ll be ‘Thank you Bonnibel’ and ‘You’re so smart we love you so much’.”

“ _ We do love you, B. But you’re a huge fucking nerd. Take it as a compliment _ .” Lucy replied. 

Bonnibel rolled her eyes and leaned back dramatically defeated in her desk chair, earning laughter from her four friends. 

It was well past midnight when they all hung up the call.


	2. Chapter 2

Bonnibel hated the cold. Waking up the next morning and pulling her curtains open to reveal grey skies made her sigh in disappointment; she’d probably have to get on the bus to go to school, if the darkening clouds were anything to go by, which sucked royally. Still, it was better than risking getting rained on, being soggy throughout her first period wasn't something that Bonnibel thought sounded appealing. 

Kim had made her usual two slices of toast and coffee before leaving for work. Bonnibel took great satisfaction in taking her time sipping from her pink mug, knowing she had woken up with more than enough time to prepare her school things, and even peered into the living room to wave at her dad, Cullen. 

She even yelled, “Bye, dad!” over her shoulder as she left the house with her school bag, closing the door behind her and making her way to the bus stop at the end of her road. It had already started to rain, depressingly drizzly and  _ cold _ . Bonnibel just tugged on her denim jacket as she got to the stop just in time as the bus pulled up. 

Bonnibel had only ever really taken the bus once or twice before, never really needing to because the weather had previously been good to her, so stepping onto the bus to see Marshall scrolling through his phone made her let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn’t have to sit alone.

“You know you look incredibly antisocial, right?” Bonnibel huffed, collapsing into the chair beside him and tugging out one of his earphones. “I had no clue you got on this bus.”

“Do you take this bus often?” Marshall asked her around one of his signature smirks. When she shook her head no, the corners quirked up impossibly higher. “Well then of course you wouldn’t know,” he laughed. “And anyway, I only get on every Thursday because my dad goes to work earlier.”

Bonnibel hummed. “Did you do the assignment White set us?”

“Dude, do I look like I spend my spare time doing what he wants me to do?” Marshall scoffed, arching a brow. “Home assignments suck dick, anyway.”

“Don’t be so distasteful, Marshall,” Bonnibel shot him a look of disapproval. “Homework is supposed to help better the students' understanding of the content within the syllabus. Keeps the brain working outside of school hours.” She explained happily, taking a glance at the ever worsening weather outside. 

Marshall just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Homework gives me a headache.”

Bonnibel wanted to say something else on the topic, but knew better than to start an argument over  _ homework _ of all things, so she kept her next point to herself and settled back in her seat. Marshall simply went back to listening to music.

By the time the bus pulled up outside of the school Bonnibel had already stood and was promptly the first one off of the bus, not bothering to wait for Marshall. She knew he usually waited near the parking lot for his friends, where she much preferred to head straight into the library to get in an extra thirty minutes of study before  _ her  _ friends arrived. 

The inside of the building was invitingly warm and Bonnibel allowed a small smile to tug back at her lips. The library was usually one of the warmer rooms, as well as the cosiest. Perhaps she’d sit on one of the couches today, or spread all her stuff out on the floor and sit on one of the beanbag chairs. 

Entering through the double doors to find that her friends and a couple of unfamiliar faces were all seated around their usual table made her check her watch, surprise crossing her features when it told her she was definitely thirty minutes early as usual. 

“Bonnibel,” Finn waved her over to the table, gesturing with his other hand at one of the people Bonnibel hadn’t recognised straight away. Upon closer inspection of the girl beside Finn, Bonnibel’s mind made the connection to a student she’d heard of briefly in passing conversations with Marshall. “This is Keila. She’s joining our group for next week.” Finn made the connection verbally before Bonnibel could even stretch her hand out between herself and Keila.

“Nice to meet you.” Bonnibel greeted with a smile, shaking the other woman's hand. “You’re in the year below us, right? Marshall’s told me a few things about you.”

“Yeah,” Keila nodded with a grin that almost put Marshall’s signature smirk to shame. “He’s known for being a talker. I don’t know what he’s said about me but if it's bad he’s lying. I’m a saint.”

“Oh, and these two are Guy and Bongo.” Finn cut into their conversation, leaning backwards in his seat to point at them with the end of his pencil. They both shot her a friendly smile and wave, which Bonnibel returned gracefully. “I have no clue where Marshall is.”

“He  _ was  _ on the bus.” Bonnibel frowned. “I’m assuming he hasn’t stopped to wait for you guys today?”

Keila shook her head. “Nah, we all told him we’d be here. Probably peeing.”

Probably peeing. That put an image in Bonnibel’s mind she definitely didn’t want there. She grimaced and pulled up a chair beside Lucy, leaving Keila and Finn to continue chatting about whatever they had been talking about before she had entered the room. Lucy was doodling in her sketchbook, chin in the palm of her hand as she idly shaded in a piece of the paper while Jake talked to Guy and Bongo. 

“You guys are in here early.” Bonnibel commented. “What happened to hating mornings?”

“I  _ do _ .” Lucy groaned, stilling her hand as she glanced at Bonnibel. “I don't wanna spend more time in this building than what I have to, blame Marshall for asking everyone to meet up.”

“Blaming Marshall is something I definitely can do.” Bonnibel joked. “And wait a minute,  _ I _ wasn’t asked to meet up.”

“That’s because you’re guaranteed to be here every morning, B.” Jake muttered over his girlfriend’s shoulder. “What’s the point in telling you to do something you already have plans for?”

Bonnibel supposed he had a point. Still though, “I’m offended I wasn’t even thought about.” She muttered tartly, though it was all in good fun. “What if I had decided to help a teacher out before lessons?”

Jake shot her an amused glare. “Then I guess you’d be left out.”

* * *

“With summer break only a month away and your practise exams on the near horizon I’m sure you’re all aware of the importance of these study groups and why we’ve insisted on making them mandatory.” Mr Grady’s voice bellowed out to the seniors, all of whom had been corralled into the school’s main hall for an impromptu meeting. “That being said the staff here really hope you do take this time to focus on getting your grades as well as the following break to study up on what you’ve learnt over the past few years.” 

“I’m gonna throw  _ so  _ many parties.” Marshall whispered, a few students down from where Bonnibel was sitting. She rolled her eyes and redirected her attention back to what Grady was saying.

“If there is a problem during these upcoming exams and we see that your grades are not up to standard with what we have predicted you then the groups may be changed with that in mind.” There was a chorus of loud monotonous groans from several of the students, to which Grady quickly shushed and continued with his lecture. “We really do hope that you all enjoy the rest of the year that you have here. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“What a load of bullshit,” Bonnibel overheard one of the students complaining as they started to filter out of the two double doors at either ends of the hall. “If I fail does this mean we can’t be in a study group?”

An arm found itself wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her towards another body, Marshall’s face finding itself uncomfortably close to her ear. “I doubt you’re doing anything fun during the break, eh Bonnibel?”

“Studying, mostly.” She replied, shrugging his arm off of her. “I doubt you’ll be doing anything responsible.” 

Marshall chuckled. “Actually, I have a family thing this summer but it’s not a big deal. Throwing a killer party though, if you’re available.” Bonnibel blinked at him, a little perplexed. “What?”

“Are you asking me out?” 

“What?” Marshall repeated, voice uncharacteristically shrill. “No way, dude. I was just asking because your nerd friends agreed to coming over and I’d figured I’d ask you too.” 

Bonnibel let out a little sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.” Having to turn down one of the most popular boys in the school wasn’t something she wanted to be infamous for. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth in thought. “I’ll have to ask my parents, if that’s alright, but if they know the others are going then I'm sure the answer will be a resounding ‘of course you can we always knew you’d eventually have a social life’.” Bonnibel drawled jokingly, earning another chuckle from her friend. 

A smirk found its way on Marshall’s lips. “Not one for going outside, huh?” 

“I’m a bit of a hermit, sue me.” Bonnibel shrugged. “I like reading books and doing research, just like you like partying hard and flirting with every girl in a five foot radius.”

“Haven’t flirted with you, yet.” Marshall shot back around a smile. 

Bonnibel groaned. “ _ Yet _ . Don’t make it sound like you have plans to,” she complained. “My mother already thinks you have a thing for me.”   
Marshall blinked. “Eh? What have you been saying about me that makes her think  _ that _ ?”

“That you flirt with everyone,” Bonnibel repeated, coming to a stop at her locker. “It’s not that I talk about you incessantly, it’s just that what I  _ say  _ makes her think you’ve been coming onto me.” 

Marshall waited for her to finish putting her textbooks away before he said anything else, though they both started making their way in the direction of his locker as the conversation continued. “I’m not.” He promised. “In fact, I  _ wouldn’t _ . No offence, Bonnibel, but you’re really not my type.”

Bonnibel laughed. “That’s the biggest compliment you’ve given me, Marshall.” She sang, teasingly. “Are you  _ sure  _ this isn't you flirting with me?” The half disgusted, half horrified look on Marshall’s face was worth the very idea of what she’d alluded to. 

They stopped at Marshall’s locker, littered with screwed up pieces of paper- homework, no doubt- and a jacket that had been balled up and thrown in with disregard. The textbook in his hand was treated with equal lack of care as he jammed it in with the others and slammed the door closed, regarding Bonnibel with a thoughtful look. “Are you heading back on the bus?” 

“Depends on if the weather is kinder than this morning, why?” 

He shrugged a shoulder, set off walking down the hall with his hands in his pockets. Bonnibel followed him to the entrance of the school. “Figured you’d appreciate it if Keila gave you a lift?”

“I don’t know Keila that well,” Bonnibel reminded him. “Why would I get in a car with her?”

Marshall laughed. “She’s not a murderer,” he replied, clearly amused at the very perplexed look on her face. “Myself and a couple friends are also getting a ride home from her, just figured I’d ask if you wanna tag along.” Bonnibel wanted to remind him that she didn’t know him very well, either. 

He shouldered one of the doors open, letting Bonnibel walk out first into the surprising sun. “Weather like this is too nice to pass up, anyway.” She said as she turned around to face him. “I’ll be fine with walking, it’s not that out of the way for me.”

Marshall nodded. “That’s fine, invitation is still there for another day, though.” 

“Thanks,” She smiled. “I’ll remember that.”

* * *

“And she had the nerve to assign us another essay, B. As if the one last week wasn’t enough.” Lucy’s exasperated voice came from the other end of Bonnibel’s phone. “I swear she’s going to kill us with stress.” 

“I doubt that.” Bonnibel muttered, pencil stilling on her paper when she noticed she’d forgotten another textbook she needed as source material for her own personal essay. She picked her phone up off of her desk, sliding it between her ear and her shoulder as she stood. “Teachers need  _ someone  _ to teach. No use in killing off the thing that makes them money.” 

“I mean, sure, I guess.” Lucy huffed. Bonnibel eyed her bookshelf, seeking out a tomb that she’d sat down on one of the shelves not one week ago. “I just think she’s making us do more work now before the break.” 

“Makes sense,” Bonnibel agreed, letting out an “Ah!” when she spotted the book she needed on the top shelf. “No use in letting you slack off and forget everything over the break. Oh, speaking of, I’m ninety percent sure you’re being assigned something over the summer, too.” 

Lucy groaned. “Sometimes I think you’re on their side.”

“There aren't any sides,” Bonnibel pointed out, standing on the tips of her toes to finger the spine of the book out from where it was nestled. “Your education is important. Believe it or not, they actually want to help you.” She rested the hardback on her desk next to her beginnings of a second paragraph. 

“You say this every time.” Lucy pointed out. Bonnibel just smiled at her friend's tired sigh. “What are your plans for the break, then? Marshall says you’ve put a party into consideration.”

“Mhm,” Bonnibel nodded at nothing in particular. “Gotta ask my parents, first.”

There was a beat of silence, probably as Lucy busied herself with something on her end. Bonnibel used the pause in conversation to set her phone back down and refamiliarise herself with the sentence she had half started. “What did you think of Marshall’s friends today?”

“Hm, Keila seemed nice. Bongo was a little quiet, and Guy seemed to be about as vain as Marshall can be. Why?”

“I dunno,” and Bonnibel could picture Lucy shrugging her shoulders with a bored expression on her face. “I’ve only ever heard about Keila through Marshall, and you know what he’s like; over exaggerating everything and adding extra details that never happened.” Bonnibel cracked a smile. “I totally get what you mean about Guy though.”

“All of Marshall’s other friends are a little alternative, too.” She hummed. “I can see why they get along so well.” Lucy snorted. “You and Jake already knew Bongo though, right?”

“Uh, yeah, sorta.” Came the response as Bonnibel’s door opened, her mothers head poking through and gesturing her over with her hand. “Jake knows him better than I do, but that’s just because they’ve spent more time together. He’s sweet.”

“Mhm, I gotta go, we’ll continue later tonight?”

“Yeah, B, talk to you later.” 

“Sorry,” Kim apologised, dragging out the last vowel as Bonnibel stood from her desk. The essay was going to have to be finished later, it seemed. “Dinner is ready.”

As if on cue, Bonnibel’s stomach growled in response to her two hour phone call with Lucy without any food. “Thank god.” She muttered. “What are we having today?”

Kim wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Your father and I have attempted to make pasta from scratch, we’re hoping you’ll tell us if we’ve done a bad job with it.”

Bonnibel smiled, leaning into her mum’s side. “Duh.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided that I hated the formatting of the video call in the first chapter, decided to toss the use of italics for the dialogue away in its entirety. Please let me know if you prefer this over the first chapter's formatting! I might go back and change it.

Bonnibel awoke to rain pattering against her window and sighed into her pillow, sleep still tugging at her brain. Her alarm clock read _8:12 AM._ Breakfast would be ready very soon. She _thought_ about going back to sleep, thought about how her friends would all probably still be in bed and how they’d sneer at her if they knew she was awake at that time. The hardwood floor was cold against her bare feet as she sat up and reached for her phone from her bedside table. 

She padded up to her window to pull the curtains open, staring tiredly at the grey, cloudy sky that greeted her good morning, and shuffled to her wardrobe to get changed. Overalls seemed like a good choice for her plans for the day, coupled with a nice warm jacket and long sleeved shirt. Her socks had cats on them.

Venturing down the stairs brought the smell of bacon and a muffled hum of a tune that Bonnibel was sure lived somewhere in the back of her head. Her mother was standing in front of a pan when she entered the kitchen, head swaying to the non existent beat as she prepared breakfast. 

“Mornin’,” Bonnibel greeted, wrapping her mother in a hug from behind as she leaned forwards and accepted a peck on her cheek. “Dad still in bed?”

“Called into work, actually,” Kim responded. “Some sort of emergency. Would you like eggs this morning?”

Bonnibel thought about it, nodding her head against Kim’s shoulder before pulling away to yawn. “I’ll be in the garage.”

Bonnibel was ever so grateful that her parents understood how much she loved having her time alone, doing fun research projects and essays in her garage-turned-study, and was thankful that they brought her breakfast and the occasional cup of tea in for her. It was probably one of the most consistently thoughtful things in her life up at that point. 

She frowned inwardly to herself when her phone vibrated in the front pocket of her overalls; none of her friends were really ever awake so early in the morning on a weekend. Or so she thought. 

**Lucy (8:21AM):** When is our algebra homework due??   
Bonnibel sighed and, outwardly this time, rolled her eyes at her friend. Of course Lucy wouldn’t even have to ask if Bonnibel was awake yet. Of course her friends knew she was a morning person. 

**Bonnibel (8:21AM):** Tuesday first period, why are you awake? 

**Lucy (8:22AM):** Dang :/ 

There was no other response that followed Lucy’s one word answer, nor was there three dots telling her that she was even typing anything out, so Bonnibel just dropped her phone back into her pocket and sat down at the desk that her parents had very unexpectedly  _ built  _ for her to use in the garage one summer. 

It was already littered with pieces of paper, most of which had her usually neat cursive scrawled all over with, and a couple of books were stacked on one another in the corner. Bonnibel quickly got set with tidying it up. A clean workspace made for a more productive workspace, anyhow. 

Her mother came in with her food during the tail end of her straightening out the desk. The plate was placed down gently, and the kiss she received on her cheek was even gentler. 

“What’s on the research agenda today, then?” Kim wondered aloud, fingering the corner of one of Bonnibel’s many yet to be finished essays. “Global warming?” She asked suddenly after skimming the page. 

Bonnibel took a look at which one her mother had picked out before nodding. “I was reading a book from… I think the eighties, I can’t really remember but it’ll be somewhere in my room. I picked it out because the guy who wrote it was german,” she shrugged her shoulders, pushing a stapled stack of paper her mother’s way. “This is a print out of another book I downloaded online about the compensation of workers that’s more recent. I found it intriguing when I saw it in the library at school, so naturally I asked the librarian if there was a pdf version I could email to myself so I could highlight and annotate it without ruining school property,” and then, “When I finish with this would you like a cup of tea?” 

Kim’s eyebrows shot up when Bonnibel quickly changed the subject with a twist and a pointed index finger thrown at her food. She nodded her head, though, and Bonnibel hummed and got to starting her breakfast. “That sounds like a lot of work, honey.” 

“Yeah,” Bonnibel mumbled around her bacon. “Do you know when dad will be home?”

“Hmm… Not sure, I think he said around midday? Put your plate in the dishwasher when you’re finished.” 

Bonnibel nodded to her desk, hearing the door click close behind her, and resumed organising her desk mid bites of food. When it was as clear as it was ever going to be, she cleared her plate and stood. Her phone buzzed against her stomach once more before she even got to the door that separated the kitchen and the garage. 

**Lucy (8:43AM):** Are you on for a call tonight? 

**Lucy (8:44AM):** Of the video kind, not another hour long phone call ;)

Bonnibel snorted as she opened the kitchen door with her elbow, tapping out a reply and heading to the sink to rinse her plate off. 

**Bonnibel (8:44AM):** Of course! What time?

**Lucy (8:44AM):** Maybe a little earlier than usual idk yet   
**Lucy (8:45AM):** Marshall said he’d join :p

**Bonnibel (8:46AM):** Good to know :)

She put her phone down momentarily to turn the tap off and put the plate in the dishwasher, also taking the time to retrieve milk and put the kettle on for her and her mother’s tea. “Do you want sugar?” She called into the living room, receiving a ‘One, please’ not two seconds later. 

**Bonnibel (4:48AM):** Still haven’t answered my question… ://

**Lucy (4:49AM):** ???   
**Lucy (4:49AM):** OH

**Lucy (4:49AM):** Jake woke me up with his cold feet >:/

Bonnibel laughed lightly, retrieving two mugs from the cupboard and setting them down on the counter. 

“Who’re you giggling at?” Kim called through the door. 

“No one,” Bonnibel responded. “It’s just Lucy.”

“She’s awake?”    
Bonnibel chuckled at the fact that her and her mother had encountered the same shock at the thought of Lucy being awake so early on a Saturday morning. The kettle stopped boiling, the little  _ ping  _ letting her know she could pour, and she set back to work on their hot drinks. Her phone was pocketed once more as she brought them both into the living room, setting Kim’s cup down on the side table beside her as she typed feverishly on her laptop. 

“Captivating work?” Bonnibel asked slightly teasingly, peering over her mug as she blew gently. 

Kim sighed almost frustratedly. “I almost wish this was work; one of my coworkers was supposed to send out a survey an hour ago via email. Everyone’s very distressed. It’s chaos.” Bonnibel laughed into her drink. “Thank you for the tea, hun.”

“I have to repay you for breakfast somehow,” Bonnibel said, settling down on the arm of the couch. “Also, I’ll be on call with my friends a little earlier tonight. Just letting you know so you don’t think I’m talking to myself.”

“That’s okay, honey. Honestly, we can only really hear you talking to them when we go to the bathroom or are walking down the hallway.”

Bonnibel sighed in relief. “I’m always so worried about waking you up because I’m laughing too loud or something.”

“We wouldn’t be mad even if you did, Bonnie.” 

“Thank god.” She muttered. Really, she hated the thought of inconveniencing her parents after all they do for her. She wanted them to know just how grateful she was for all of their hard work. “I’m gonna head back into the garage, want anything from the kitchen before I vanish for the rest of the morning?”

“No, thank you.” Kim laughed, going back to typing. “Just send me a text if you want water brought in later, though.”

“Will do,” Bonnibel sang, already through the door. 

Realising then that she hadn’t responded to Lucy’s text, she fumbled with her phone once more, shouldering the garage door open as she tapped out a quick text. 

**Bonnibel (8:54AM):** That sucks :/ How’re you spending the rest of your morning?

With that she turned off her phone and put it on do not disturb, electing to spend the next few hours getting at least one of her essays finished. When she took a glance at the time and saw that she hadn’t received any more text notifications, she assumed Lucy had chosen to spend the rest of her morning going back to sleep and smiled to herself.

* * *

Bonnibel was thankful that the desk chair in her bedroom was so much more comfortable than the one she used in the garage. While the one downstairs was used for longer periods of time while she worked, the one in her room was for comfort and pleasure. She could sit and relax, maybe watch a movie or read a book, slouched in her pyjamas. It was also much more relaxing to talk to her friends while sitting on it, knees brought up to her chest with a hot chocolate cradled against her chin. 

“Lookin’ cosy, Bonnibel.” Jake commented through the video call. “Care to share your hot chocolate with us?”

“Uhm, no.” Bonnibel scoffed, protectively moving her mug out of frame for just a few seconds with a teasing smile. “Can’t you make your own?”

“Of course he can’t,” Lucy replied, sticking her head into frame on Jake’s end of the call. “When has Jake ever done something that’s completely viable?” 

“Ouch,” Jake muttered. “Babe, I am right here. I would make a drink but I’m pretty sure Finn drank the last of the hot chocolate mix.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Marshall chimed in. “Sounds like you’re shifting blame.”

“Who even invited you?” Jake asked jokingly. 

Lucy pushed his shoulder gently. “Shut it, you. I invited him because he’s our friend.”

“I thought you invited me because I’m super cool,” 

“Uhuh,” Bonnibel nodded, face full of disbelief. “And they invited me because I’m entertaining.” The group laughed in unison. “Oh, hey, Keila’s online. We could invite her and make this a very legitimate study group meeting.”

Marshall’s smirk grew several times bigger. “As much as I’d love to annoy her with an unprompted invite to this mess, she’s hanging with a friend tonight and they probably don’t wanna be interrupted.”

“Ooh,” Lucy sang. “Keila has a hot date?”

Marshall snorted. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised. They spend a lot of time together. Although,” his eyes rolled upwards in thought. “Nah, I don’t think so. I would’ve clocked on already.”

“You spend a lot of time with Keila?” Bonnibel asked curiously. “I would’ve thought… introverted, I don’t know, you’re just incredibly  _ not  _ as antisocial as Keila and the rest of the music weirdos.” 

“Eh, kinda? I know her mostly through mutual friends. Out of everyone in that group I speak the most with Guy and Bongo.”

“That makes sense.” Jake nodded. “Bongo talks about you the most to me, and similarly I know Guy through association.”

“We know Ellen through Marshall.” Lucy pointed out. “But do you think she knows about  _ us _ ?”

“I don’t think Ellen knows about anyone that isn’t worth gossiping about, truth be told.” Bonnibel said. “Marshall is a huge flirt, so there’s that. We definitely aren’t cool enough to be the centre of her appraisal, but we fly just enough under the radar that we aren’t picked apart by her and her cronies.”

“ _ Cronies _ .” Jake repeated, clearly amused. “What? She some sort of mafia boss, now?”

“She’s gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse,” Marshall said, putting on his best mobster-esque accent. 

“Can you imagine her sitting in a dark room smoking a cigar as Melissa beats the shit outta some guy that rejected her?” Jake guffawed. “Holy shit, that is the most intimidating thing.”

“Melissa being the hit guy is the most cursed thought,” Lucy wheezed through laughter. “The imagery of having a bag yanked off your head and seeing  _ her _ … exquisite, I love it.” 

Marshall went back to grinning. “Melissa is just cursed, though.”

“Wow,” Jake gasped dramatically. “What’s Ellen gonna say when she hears that?”

“She’s not here, I think I’m okay,”

“Actually,” Bonnibel sat forward. “She’s everywhere. She knows everything. I’d watch out, Marshall.” She smiled when her friends devolved into laughter once more. 

“That is  _ horrible _ , I hate it,” Came Lucy’s voice from where she was doubled over off screen. “I do not want to think about her as I go to sleep tonight.”

“Ellen never sleeps.” 

“She’s under your bed.”

“Constantly listening.”

“Boys,” Bonnibel tutted. “Don’t speak about her, she’ll smite you.”

Marshall’s face left his little box too, his hair just in shot as he laughed. “Fucking hell. When did she go from a mafia boss to a cosmic entity.”

“She can be both,” Jake said. “Cthulu in a three piece, tommy gun in hand.” He mimed firing a machine gun as Lucy gave him another friendly shove. 

“You’re all so immature.” She said breathlessly. “Oh my god, it’s already half one.”

Bonnibel blinked, and like the others looked down at the time. It hadn’t even felt like three hours had gone by.

“We should probably all sleep, eh?” Jake asked. 

Bonnibel nodded. “Yeah, I’m for sure going to sleep. Have to be awake early.”

“On a Sunday?” Marshall asked incredulously. “God, you fuckin’ nerd.”

“She wakes up at eight every day.” Lucy told him. 

Before Marshall could say anything else, Bonnibel rolled her eyes in jest and mumbled out, “Yeah, alright, I’ll see you later. Goodnight guys!”

“Night,”

“Don’t let Ellen grab your ankles!” Jake called out before anyone left the call, resulting in yet another round of laughter from them all. 

“I’m leaving,” Marshall managed through laughter. “You’re all insane. Night y’all.”

Marshall was the first to leave, and Bonnibel hung up from the call soon after. Tiredness crashed down on her so suddenly that the thought of sleeping at her desk didn’t seem so bad, but responsibility outweighed the awful idea and she turned off her computer. Slipping under her duvet and snuggling up to her pillows, Bonnibel found herself falling asleep with a smile on her face much quicker than she thought she would’ve. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This just in: I adore using Marshall as a plot device. Like, so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! A double update. This is pretty neat.

“Hey, Bonnibel,” Finn’s voice came from somewhere amidst the crowd of students quickly trying to get to their lessons. Bonnibel glanced over to where it came from, smiling when she saw his boyish smile. 

“Hi, Finn, what lesson do you have next?”

“Uh,” Finn bit his lip, puffing his chest out. “Maths. I was going to ask if you’d like my company walking to your lesson?”

“The science rooms are on the opposite side of the school,” Bonnibel reminded him. “Maybe another time?” Watching Finn deflate like a sad balloon made her feel sort of guilty, but he perked back up with a grin seconds later. 

“I’ll be fine,” He grinned around a flushed face, clearly embarrassed he’d forgotten the layout of the building despite the smile that adorned his face. “I have long legs; I’ll walk you to the maths block and still be on time for my lesson.”

Bonnibel sighed and reluctantly nodded, falling into line with him as they made their way towards the maths rooms. There really was no use getting into a disagreement over the potential that Finn would be late to his lesson. Still, though, Bonnibel  _ almost  _ turned around and said ‘I told you so,’ when they reached her room just as the bell went. She bit her tongue and muttered out a, “Thank you, Finn,” instead. 

But Finn put a hand on her elbow. It wasn’t a hard grip, but Bonnibel felt herself being beckoned to the other side of the door as Finn opened his mouth. At least he was being polite to her fellow classmates. “Hey, I was actually wondering-, I- uhm would you like to go to Marshall’s party together? It’s just that I think you’re really neat and it’d be really fun to go with you.”

Bonnibel hummed as she thought it over. Lucy had a car which no doubt Finn and Jake would be travelling to Marshall’s house in. It made the most sense for her to accept his offer. “Yes. Is there a specific time you wanted me to arrive that you had in mind, twenty minutes before we set off, maybe?” 

Finn blink, spluttered, almost as if he hadn’t expected Bonnibel to say yes. “Uh, totally, twenty minutes beforehand is great.” He blushed. “I’ll let my brother know.” Bonnibel smiled as she turned and entered the classroom, offering her friend a wave goodbye as he stood there gawking after her. 

Turning into the room and scanning for a spare seat, Bonnibel very nearly laughed out loud when she met eyes with Melissa. After the discussion with her friends, it was incredibly hard for her to not look at either her or Ellen with a straight face. 

“Like what you’ve done with your hair, Mel.” Bonnibel greeted as she took the spare seat beside Melissa. “Blonde suits you.”

Melissa shot her a flat stare. “You’re not just saying that so I don’t spread anything about you and your friends, are you?”

“Of course not,” Bonnibel replied. Thinking about it, Melissa and Ellen were probably incredibly  _ lonely  _ people. She chose not to put  _ too  _ much thought into that, lest Melissa kidnap her and beat her up in Ellen’s mafia boss office. “I take it you’re going to Marshall’s party next week?” 

“I mean I  _ guess _ I have to,” Melissa drawled, not bothering to make a move to even take out her textbook or a pen. “The Abadeer’s are a weird family; Marshall’s really the only one that’s normal. Which is saying something, really. If not for the socialisation I’ll go to snoop around the house.”

Bonnibel didn’t really know how to take any of that in, so she chose not to and instead start on the work, keeping the conversation barely going with a, “I would’ve assumed you’d be thrilled to go to a party, Mel,” muttered under her breath. 

“I would be if Ellen was going.” Melissa replied, rolling her eyes at her. Bonnibel tried not to look too offended. “I’m going alone, unless Cherry decides to come with me.” 

“That sucks,” Bonnibel lamented. “I thought Ellen would be all over a party hosted by Marshall, do you know why she’s not going?”

Melissa glared at the front of the classroom, angrily twirling a blonde curl around her finger. “She’s going on a date.” Bonnibel’s mouth shifted into an  _ ‘ah’ _ shape as she nodded silently. Of course the only thing Ellen valued more than a social gathering was a boy. Sometimes plural, if she felt like it. “Why? Will you and your motley group of losers be in attendance?”

“Well, he’s our friend, so naturally we’ve been invited, yes.” Bonnibel replied, most of her attention on the extract out of the textbook the teacher was going over. “I’m still unsure about going, though. Social gatherings aren’t really my thing and, well, my only reasons for going will be because Finn, Jake and Lucy will be going.”

“You should go,” was not what Bonnibel was expecting to come out of Melissa’s mouth. “Everyone thinks you’re a nerdy shut in.” There it was. 

Bonnibel laughed under her breath. “I am.”

“Bullshit,” Melissa drawled back. “You go out with your friends, don’t you? I’ve seen you in and around the mall several times.” Bonnibel had almost forgotten that Melissa worked at the cinema complex in the mall. “Maybe you’re a nerd, but you’re definitely not a shut in. I  _ know  _ shut ins.” Bonnibel wanted to ask who she was talking about, but Melissa had decided to pull out her phone under the desk and honestly, science was such a better focal point for her. 

* * *

“Have you asked your parents about my party yet?” Marshall’s arm was slung around her shoulders as he pulled her closer, other hand lazily hooked into his pocket as he steered them into the cafeteria. 

“No,” Bonnibel admitted. “I have over a week, I’m sure I’ll be able to ask the day before.” 

“Uhhh, nope,” Marshall said around a grin, popping the ‘p’. “We all know that means you’re not coming. You’ll say you forgot, or something. This isn’t homework, nerd, it’s  _ life _ .”

Bonnibel snorted, wrestling out of his grasp as they got in line for food. “You’re forgetting I love doing homework. Plus, I’m still not entirely decided.” She bit her lip. “Though, I did tell Finn I was gonna hitch a ride with him and his brother in Lucy’s car.”

“That means you’re coming,” Marshall decided for her. “It’ll be fun, I promise you.” 

“Uhuh,” Bonnibel drawled sarcastically. “More fun than doing research in my garage?”

“What?”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s usually how I spend my Saturdays. I have a little study in my garage and-,”

“God, you really  _ are  _ a nerd.” Marshall laughed. “It’ll be way more fun than sitting in your hobbit hole  _ reading _ . You have my word on that.”

Bonnibel just sighed, not fully believing him, and took her tray of food to sit at an empty table. She frowned when Marshall sat across from her with his signature grin thrown her way, but said nothing and started to eat. If she was quick enough, she’d be able to go to the library and get some quick research done for her next lesson. 

“Are we intruding on a little dinner date?” Jake’s voice was heard before Bonnibel looked up in time to see him swinging his leg over the bench beside her. 

“No,” Bonnibel muttered around the fork in her mouth. “Marshall has been following me around since last lesson ended.”

Marshall’s boot collided with her shin. “I’ll have you know I was making friendly conversation with her, actually,” he grumbled, clearly unamused at Jake’s attempt at a joke. Finn had rounded the table to sit beside him, staying quiet as he poked his pasta pot with his plastic spork. 

Jake looked as if he didn’t believe them, but the teasing smile on his face told her that he was merely joking around. “So you’re not on a romantic cafeteria date right now?”

“Dude, there are so many more romantic places than the damn cafeteria, who do you think I am?” Marshall shot back. “If this  _ was _ a date, which it  _ isn’t _ , it wouldn’t be  _ here _ .”

“What wouldn’t be here?” Lucy appeared behind Bonnibel. 

Jake shuffled over down the bench, letting his girlfriend sit between him and Bonnibel, leaning his cheek in for a quick peck. “Marshall’s hot date with Bonnibel.”

“Ew,” Bonnibel grimaced. “Lucy, he’s joking.”

“As if I’d believe that, anyway,” Lucy scoffed. “You and Marshall? The school would collapse in on itself. The hierarchy would be ruined.”

“Geez, thanks,” Bonnibel mumbled. “Real confidence booster there, Lu.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, putting an arm around her shoulders in a similar way Marshall had done not ten minutes ago. “You know I love you, Bonnibel.”

“When are we going to discuss the study group?” Finn piped up from across the table. 

“What do you mean?” Marshall asked, head tilting slightly as he turned. “We’ve discussed it, haven’t we?”

Lucy glanced between Marshall and Bonnibel’s perplexed faces. “Did Lincoln not give you guys the heads up about the groups?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, either,” Jake admitted. “What else is there to discuss?”

“Lincoln wants people to go to his office with a list of the names you want in your group. Everyone assumes it’s to prevent probable slacking and slash or mayhem during the study periods after summer.” Finn explained through a bite of his lunch. “They need the names before summer starts, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Bonnibel nodded, earning a smile from Finn.

“I’ll go.” Marshall volunteered. “Lincoln adores me.”

“Please,” Lucy muttered under her breath. “He’s still furious that you and Bongo threw toilet paper everywhere in here.”

Marshall opened his mouth to retort, but Bonnibel had finished her food  _ and  _ had a shining reputation with the principle, so she stood before he could get a word in and shouldered her bag. “Wait, can we at least hold the group at my place? I’ll provide snacks and everything.”

The table thought about it before agreeing in unison, earning them a proud Marshall grin. 

“Us and your music friends, yeah?” At Marshall’s nod, she took her now empty tray and tossed it with the pile of other used trays, leaving the cafeteria with a sigh. She had  _ hoped  _ to get a good twenty minutes of reading done before lunch ended. Damn it. 

* * *

Lincoln was already talking to someone in his office when Bonnibel knocked. The unnamed man had curls that would put even Melissa to shame and the moustache that sat on his upper lip made Bonnibel feel ever so slightly uncomfortable when he turned to acknowledge her. 

“Ah, Camden, you  _ must  _ meet our most prized pupil while you can,” Lincoln said excitedly, standing from his desk to usher Bonnibel inside. “Bonnibel, this is Mr Waxman, he’s our new guidance counselor here. Camden, this is Miss Butler.” Bonnibel blushed despite herself as she held out her hand to Waxman, forcing a smile. Maybe she’d have to forget about the library today. That was unfortunate. “She has, by far, the best grades in the entire school. She truly excels in everything she puts her mind to,” Lincoln was grinning from ear to ear. 

Waxman’s moustache curled as he smiled at her, hand still in hers. “It’s a pleasure to meet such an asset, Miss Bonnibel.” 

“I was just telling Camden about our mandatory study groups over the summer, Bonnibel, which I’m sure you’re thrilled about.”

“Yes,” Bonnibel nodded, using the hair that had slipped from her bun as an excuse to take her hand back and brush the strands behind her ear. “That’s actually why I’m here, I have a group already in mind.” 

And she pulled out a piece of scrap paper that she’d scribbled their names on during her walk from the cafeteria to the principal's office. She handed it to Lincoln, watching his facial journey as he scanned the list downwards. 

“Marshall Abadeer? That’s… Not someone I had expected you to associate with, Miss Butler. As for the others… there are a couple names here that I’ve become well acquainted with over the years.” He scanned over the paper in thought, almost as if he couldn’t believe that Bonnibel had the  _ audacity  _ to talk to anyone other than her close friends and teachers. Bonnibel two years ago would’ve agreed with him on the Marshall thing, though; she barely knew him back then and had assumed he was just the trouble making ‘bad boy’ of the school, now she knew that there was more to him than the image he presented to the rest of his peers. “I suppose I’ll allow this, assuming you’ll keep Abadeer under supervision, of course,” He ‘joked’, chuckling to himself. 

“This Marshall boy… he’s troubled?” Waxman queried. 

Lincoln opened his mouth and closed it again after looking at Bonnibel once more, as if he was about to say something he maybe shouldn’t. “I… He puts up a fuss, definitely,” He nodded, phrasing his response carefully with Bonnibel in the room. “A troublemaker, but not  _ troubled _ .” That sounded like a lie, but Bonnibel feigned interest in her hair once more and Waxman nodded as Lincoln sat back down at his desk. “Just hold on one more moment, Bonnibel. I just need to enter the names you’ve given to me onto my computer.”

“Of course,” Bonnibel smiled, seemingly happy to be there rather than in the library. “I promise you that I’ll make Marshall put in his share of the work.”

“That’s not your promise to make, though, is it?” Waxman cut in before Lincoln could even reply. “If he doesn’t make the effort, I’m sure Lincoln would trust you if you shared your experience with him. Right, Lincoln?”

“Bonnibel doesn’t lie,” Lincoln confirmed with a nod, finishing up on his computer before sliding the piece of paper back to her. “But I trust that she’ll be able to make him do  _ some  _ work, at the very least.” Bonnibel smiled back at them awkwardly, exiting the office with a wave of her hand. 

Maybe she should warn Marshall about Waxman and his vendetta against ‘troubled’ students. But she still had ten minutes left of lunch, and she’d see Marshall again some other day.

The library it was, then. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've taken notice, I'm serious about this being a slow burn fic. Everything has to be natural, the interactions Bonnibel has with her friends, the progression in the character's individual stories, the relationship between Bonnibel and Marceline. Still, though, I do hope you're enjoying reading these chapters without Marceline. She'll come soon enough.   
> That being said, don't forget to leave a comment! I adore getting them/reading them and knowing what you guys love and/or hate about a fic in its entirety or a choice I've made. If comments are scary for you, I'm abadeerly on every social media rn, so you can throw me a dm!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter, Marceline (somewhat vaguely).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, satisfyingly, exactly 3k words. Seeing that on the word count box at the bottom of the document felt so good, not gonna lie.

It’s always odd how the more you think or pay attention to something, the more that thing occurs in your life. For example, when Bonnibel entered her History lesson and skimmed over the seating, seeing Keila sat at the back of the room chewing on her pencil wasn’t something she’d ever been aware of before. She’d also seen Bongo and Jake interacting more often, and her brain had picked out Guy in a crowd of people that same morning. She believed she’d read somewhere that the word for that was synchronicity, where things would appear related to one another, yet would have no real connection. Life was strange like that in so many ways. 

“I never knew we shared History,” Bonnibel said with a friendly smile as she sat at the same table as Keila. 

Keila returned her smile and turned in her seat to face Bonnibel, pencil still dangling out of her mouth as she said, “To be fair, you’re always at the front of the room with your nose in your work.” Bonnibel supposed she had a point. “What brings you to this end of the classroom, anyway?” 

“Honestly?” Bonnibel laughed. “Just saw you here and figured I’d come say hey.” 

Keila narrowed her eyes, scanning Bonnibel’s face for any trace of a lie. Then her smile was back, warmer than before. “Sweet.”

With the conversation seemingly over, Bonnibel began taking her books and paper out of her bag, slung over the back of her chair for easy access. At least sitting at the back of the room with a friend meant that no one would throw anything into her bag if she left it open. She opened her textbook to the correct page, all the while noticing Keila’s eyes had been fixed on her the whole time. 

Eventually, the other girl spoke. “You’re not gonna make me  _ actually  _ do the work, are you?” 

So that’s why Keila and Marshall got along; their lack of care for schoolwork. Bonnibel hummed around a smile. “I’m certainly not going to force you to do anything, but don’t put disapproving staring past me. I’m fully capable of making you feel guilty without saying a word.”

“You’re terrifying,” Keila muttered around a grin, reaching into her satchel for her own textbook. “I’ll do some of it, but don’t put copying off of you past  _ me _ . I’m fully capable of passing a lesson without putting in the effort.” She echoed Bonnibel’s words, much to both of their amusement. “Y’know, I’m surprised you’re even talking in class.”

“Mm, well, I’m very good at multitasking, and you really don’t need to look down at the paper while you’re writing if you put your hand in the right place to begin with,” she shot a glance at Keila as if to prove her point, finishing writing her sentence in her pink notebook. 

“Again, terrifying,” Keila huffed. “You’re like a robot or something.”

“You’re not the first person to make that connection, actually,” Bonnibel chuckled. “Jake used to tease me all the time. I’m kind of hoping no one brings it up during the study group.”

“It bugs you?”

Bonnibel bit her lip as she thought about it, pen coming to a halt on her paper. She turned to Keila with a sigh. “It’s like… imagine being teased about something that you thoroughly enjoy doing and becoming good at. I wouldn’t say I’ve been  _ bullied  _ about it, but people like to pick out the fact I enjoy studying and academic pursuits more than the average teenager. The only reason Jake stopped is because I told him that him pointing it out wasn’t going to magically turn me into some sort of socialite.”

“Damn, Bonnibel,” Keila muttered. “I think I get that, though. I hope you know I actually think you’re pretty dope.”

“Oh,” Bonnibel blinked, growing a little warmer at the unexpected praise. “Uh, thanks?” 

Keila just laughed at her. “Let me know if Marshall ever makes you feel bad about it, okay? I’ll talk to him about it.”

“That’s… sweet of you, actually. Thanks, Keila. I’m sure you’ll be able to sort it out during the study group if he starts with it. Has he told you he’s volunteered his house for the group over the summer?”

Keila’s eyebrows shot up. “What? No, that little fucker never tells me anything important.” 

“Well, I’m here to tell you what he doesn’t.” Bonnibel smiled, flipping the page over in her textbook as the teacher instructed. Keila made no effort to even open hers. 

“His house, though? What made him do that?”

Bonnibel shrugged a shoulder. “He also said he’d provide food for us. Maybe he expects to make them into mini parties of his,” she shuddered at the thought. 

“Yeah, probably. Just wasn’t expecting his family to be so chill about it.”

“They’re not usually?”

“Eh, they can be weird about him having people over they don’t know that well. He’s only having the party on Saturday because his dad will be away on a trip for his work.” Keila explained. 

Bonnibel sighed. This wasn’t the first time Bonnibel had heard someone describe Marshall’s family as being  _ weird _ . It made her wonder what was so odd about them, or why Marshall never really spoke about his personal life outside of school. 

Maybe the study group would be a better way of getting to know about him. 

* * *

Bonnibel was getting used to how often Marshall would appear beside her in the corridors. Whether she had just exited a classroom or was on her way to the library, he would somehow track her down and throw an arm around her with a greeting and a smirk. The physical contact was something she had grown more attuned to, as well; instead of wrestling out of his grasp which seemed to only egg him on further, she’d continue walking and talking with him, and eventually he’d remove himself from around her shoulders. 

Today was no different. 

“And, I mean, I was going to tell her eventually,” Marshall was saying, finally sliding his arm off of her to slip his hands into his pockets, as they found themselves outside of Bonnibel’s lesson five minutes early. “Keila’s hard to track down.”

“I found her quite easily,” Bonnibel shrugged, a teasing smile resting on her face. “I assume you’re not going to your lesson?”

“Eh,” Marshall glanced at the floor. “I kinda have to. Promised Cherry I’d partner up with her for our class project.”

“How thoughtful of you, Marshall,” Bonnibel gasped sarcastically, earning a playful shove against her shoulder. “What’s the project about, or is that something I’d be better off asking Cherry about?”

“The latter, but you don’t even talk to her.”

Bonnibel laughed. “You have a point, but you should leave before you’re late to your lesson.”

Surprisingly, Marshall did in fact turn on his heel to leave her standing by the door, muttering “Peace,” and throwing her a wave over his shoulder. 

She said her goodbye to him as he rounded the corner and pulled out her phone, figuring she might as well play a quick few games of sudoku before lesson started. 

She’d barely gotten the first few cells filled before there was a tap on her shoulder and a Finn standing in front of her with a thoughtful look on his face. Bonnibel paused her game and slid her phone back inside her pocket. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, I have something to ask you,” Finn muttered, blushing as he looked up to the ceiling. “It’s kinda weird, though, and I don’t want you thinking  _ I’m  _ weird.”

Bonnibel rolled her eyes at him, elbowing his ribs gently. “Shoot, Finn. I’m all ears.”

He inhaled sharply and deeply, chest puffing out with all the air now in his lungs, and let it out in one big sigh. “Fine. Are- Are you and Marshall, like, are you a thing?”

“Excuse you?”

“Like- Dating, I meant are you-”

“I understood the question,” Bonnibel cut him off. “What… makes you think that?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged sheepishly, scuffing the toes of his sneakers against the floor. “You’ve been really friendly with him recently. Sorry for being weird.”

“You’re not weird,” Bonnibel soothed, putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. “No, me and Marshall aren’t dating. That’d be so gross; he’s like an older brother I didn’t ask for.” That seemed to make Finn perk up, despite the blush still settling on his cheeks. “You’re also like a brother to me, okay Finn?”

“But… Different, right?”

“Than Marshall? One hundred percent.”

“Awesome,” Finn grinned. “That’s awesome. I’ll see you in the cafeteria?”

“Of course,” Bonnibel nodded her head. “I promise I have no plans to date Marshall at all.”

“Just friends?”

“Just friends,” Bonnibel agreed. 

And as Finn rounded the same corner as Marshall had, Bonnibel wondered why he even cared that much at all. It must’ve been him looking out for her. After all, Marshall had an infamous history with plenty of the girls in the school. There was even a rumour that he’d cheated on his ex-girlfriend with Melissa, but Bonnibel knew Marshall too well to know that he wasn’t at all interested in her as more than a friend. Just like her with him. 

* * *

“As all of you are aware, summer is in one week,” The teacher was announcing something or other at the end of the lesson. Bonnibel, for the first time, tuned out whatever it was she was saying to the class. She found thinking about being off of school for so long honestly depressing. She thrived in an educational environment and felt comfortable being able to pursue her hobby in research in a place where it was deemed normal. Not that her parents thought that it wasn’t normal; it was quite the opposite, really, but despite being encouraged by them Bonnibel still enjoyed having a schedule that she could stick to every day.

Instead of paying attention to the teacher's speech on the very thing that was giving Bonnibel anxiety, she instead turned her focus to her notebook and continued off from where the lesson had ended. With any luck she could get ahead of what was planned for next week, potentially she’d be able to ask for further work to do during the break. Anything to keep her busy. 

She was only aware that the rest of the class had begun to pack away their things because the person sitting next to her brushed her arm with his bag. With the class being the last of the day, her peers were practically tripping over themselves to get out of the building to start their weekends. Bonnibel, however, spent her Friday afternoons in the school library, borrowing books for the weekend or asking the Librarian for downloadable versions on the school computers. 

So that’s where she set off to when she left the room. Jake, however, seemingly had other plans for her as he hooked his arm in hers, having waited just off to the side of the door for her to leave last. 

“You look miserable,” he commented. “Bad day?”

“Kind of,” Bonnibel muttered, trying awkwardly to put her notebook in her bag now that one of her arms had been apprehended from her so suddenly. “It probably sounds stupid to you, but I’m just bummed out about summer break. I rely on all of this to keep me from going insane.”

Jake smiled warmly at her. “I might tease you relentlessly about how you’re a nerd, but I know how much learning means to you. Not stupid.”

Bonnibel sighed, partly out of relief. “Thanks, Jake. Where are you taking me?”

“Lucy has a five minute meeting with her geography teacher, so I figured you’d take her place as we pick Finn up from his lesson and take him to his weird role playing club.” Jake explained to her. That made sense, what with him going in the opposite direction of where Lucy and the library were. 

“I  _ guess _ I can come with you,” Bonnibel groaned sarcastically, smiling inwardly to herself as she leaned and rested her head on his shoulder. “As long as you know that as soon as we get to the drama rooms I’m ditching you to go to the library.”

“Of course,” Jake nodded. “I wouldn’t want to separate you from your one true love.” 

They walked the rest of the way in pleasant silence. Bonnibel was thankful that Jake was as lovely as he was. He was probably one of the only boys at the school who was genuinely kind, with his brother being a close second.

Speaking of, Finn was pulling out a jacket from inside his locker and Bonnibel was pleased to note that it was a lot less crumpled up than the one in Marshall’s. She unhooked her arm from Jake’s as he crept up behind his brother and made him jump, almost receiving a reflexive punch to his chest from the sudden shock. 

“One of these days you’re actually gonna get punched,” Bonnibel said to Jake, waving at Finn when he looked up at her and grinned. “And then who’ll be laughing?”

“Both of us,” Jake replied with ease. “Plus, he’s a weakling. I doubt he could throw a solid punch.”

“Hey!” Finn yelled, clearly offended and embarrassed if the blush on his face was anything to go by. “I’ll have you know I can too throw a punch.”

“Before he takes you up on that offer, we’re here to escort you to your club.” 

Finn blinked. “Oh, yeah, I actually forgot about that, whoops.”

“What do you guys even do, anyway?” Jake asked as they began walking. 

“It’s in the name, Jake,” Finn sighed. “Live action role playing? It’s like dungeons and dragons but in real life… in your head.”

“Didn’t we play dungeons and dragons once with Bonnibel?” 

“Yes,” Bonnibel nodded. “You were a bard, if I remember correctly, and Finn was a fighter.” She giggled to herself when Finn struck a pose, holding an invisible sword in his hand and a shield in the other. “I think Lucy tried being one of the spell caster classes but found it too confusing, which is fair considering you were all new to the mechanics of the game.”

The conversation fell before the two brothers took it upon themselves to start bickering about whose character was the coolest, all the while Bonnibel kept smiling to herself at another one of their useless arguments. They eventually ended up at their destination, stopping outside the drama room where all the other members of Finn’s club were sitting and waiting for the club to start up. 

“Well, it was lovely walking with you two but the library is calling me,” Bonnibel said, offering the two a wave and a smile. “I’m assuming I’ll see you two either tomorrow or the day after?”

“Definitely,” Finn nodded. “I think Lucy said something about getting us to go out somewhere.”

“See you, Bonnibel,” Jake waved. “Enjoy your studying!”

Bonnibel left the two to chat, shifting the straps of her bag on her shoulders as she walked towards the library in peace. The hallways were already pretty empty which was nicer than having to walk through crowds of excited students, all with bulky bags and loud voices. 

She opened the door to the library with a sigh, only for her to collide immediately with another person on the other side. The other girl, seemingly not at all expecting this, almost toppled backwards from the impact, grunting as she glared at Bonnibel through the mane of black hair that fell across her face. 

Bonnibel was half expecting her to swear at her, or maybe shove her away and mutter something about her under her breath, but she simply readjusted the bag that was slung over one shoulder and shuffled out of the library, doing her utmost best not to touch Bonnibel once again as if she had some disease. 

All of a sudden, Bonnibel let out a breath that she’d sucked in on the impact, and traipsed into the library with another sigh. One of her favourite spots to study at was on one of the bean bags, close to the computers but still near enough to the shelves that it wasn't a massively inconvenient journey getting books to and from her workspace. 

She threw her bag down onto the floor in front of her desired bean bag chair (the light pink one, of course) and collapsed into it with a huff. She  _ swears  _ that she’d seen that girl before. Or at the very least, Lucy had said something to her about her a while ago. 

Bonnibel didn’t like leaving questions unanswered in her head, so while it was frustrating it was also natural for her to pause her studying halfway through to scroll through her text history with Lucy, hoping to find the conversation that she was thinking of. 

**Lucy (5:04PM):** Ellen just called a student a vampire I’m trying so hard not to laugh

**Lucy (5:04PM):** To be fair, the girl she’s talking about is an actual real life hermit, she doesn’t ever leave her house

**Lucy (5:05PM):** Maybe you two could be friends ;P

And there was an image attached to the last message of the girl that Bonnibel had just bumped into, albeit a very blurry image but it was still her nonetheless. She vaguely remembers them having a phone call not long after those messages, in which Lucy  _ might  _ have said something along the lines of, “Melissa was speculating about why she never speaks, Ellen told her that she was in an accident as a child which made her lose her voice. Is that an actual thing?”.  There was a chance that Bonnibel might have done some research on that topic, but she doesn’t fully remember. 

At least she could continue studying without having that girl floating around in her thoughts for the remainder of her hour. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated the bio(/description? idk) on my profile here to include where else you can find and support me! Please feel free to shoot me a message on any of my social medias if you wanna chat! Quarantine has left me INCREDIBLY lonely. *soft wailing noises*  
> Anyhow, hope you've enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a kudos and a comment if you feel like it, it means a lot!


End file.
